A month after R. Allen Stanford was found guilty of 13 counts of fraud, many Texas congress members have yet to give back campaign contributions given by Stanford. As all sides point fingers, the process of getting the funds back is prolonged for the victims.
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A government watchdog report that claims two-thirds of Texas congressional lawmakers used their positions to enrich themselves or family drew a strong retort from both Democrats and Republicans.
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Texas congressional Democrats criticized Republican presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney on Tuesday for his stance on immigration reform on the eve of a fundraising swing through San Antonio, Dallas and Houston.

Rep. Charlie Gonzalez, D-San Antonio, said that Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, failed to outline realistic measures that would help Congress pass comprehensive immigration reform to fix the nation’s broken system.

“That’s not leadership. That does not bring the country together,” Gonzalez said on a teleconference call with reporters arranged by the Democratic National Committee.

All day long, we’ll provide you with the latest reaction to the Justice Department decision not to approve the Texas Voter ID law. Some samples:

Texas Sen. John Cornyn: “Today’s decision reeks of politics and appears to be an effort by the Department of Justice to carry water for the president’s reelection campaign.”

Texas Rep. Charlie Gonzalez: “Voter suppression tactics like these are the weapons of the War on Voting. Our right to vote is enshrined in the Constitution and the Department of Justice is right to defend it this way.”
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Democratic Senator Harry Reid, Texas Rep. Charlie Gonzalez and long-time activist Dolores Huerta condemned Romney as “the most extreme presidential nominee of our time on immigration” during a conference call on Monday set up by the Democratic National Committee.

Castro and Gonzalez, both San Antonio Democrats, were among 30 leaders nationally that the campaign has designated to advise the re-election effort and mobilize voters in all 50 states. They are the only Texans on the team.

“They each share the president’s vision for a future where every American can have a fair shot at success, where hard work pays off and responsibility is rewarded,” said Jim Messina, the Obama campaign manager.

To advance President Obama’s standing with Latinos, the White House has organized policy “summits” for administration officials and Hispanic leaders in key states and communities to discuss initiatives on education, job training and health care.

Hispanic summits in Arizona, Florida, Ohio and Texas are scheduled to bring administration officials and community leaders together, as outlined by Obama in his State of the Union speech.

More than 180 members of Congress have decided to skip the tradition of sitting with their party when the president gives his State of the Union speech tomorrow, and instead have opted to sit next to a lawmaker from the other party.

One of the oddest consists of Texan Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert, a very conservative lawmaker from Tyler, and Rep. Carolyn Maloney, a very liberal Democrat from New York City. Gohmert is outspoken pro-gun advocate — a couple of weeks ago he proposed a law that would allow members of Congress to carry guns in DC, while Maloney supports strict gun control.